Roadrunner Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Blog

Want More Efficient HVAC Performance? Consider Going Ductless!

When homeowners shop for a new air conditioner or heater for their home, they’re typically looking at two main factors—how affordable the system is, and how efficient it is. If you, too, are serious about boosting the efficiency of your HVAC system, then you would do well to consider a ductless mini split installation as your next air conditioning service in Taos, NM.

What Makes a Ductless System So Efficient?

There are a number of things that make a ductless heating and cooling system efficient. First off, it is a heat pump system, and heat pump technology in and of itself has tremendously improved HVAC efficiency by large. Heat pumps are singular systems used for both heating and cooling all in one—which leads to high efficiency in the following ways:

Heat Transfer: We’re going to start with this, as it is easily the biggest player in the efficiency game, and is likely the characteristic that homeowners are most familiar with. As we just mentioned, a ductless system is a heat pump. This means it can reverse its mode of operation.

So, during the summer, refrigerant is evaporated in the indoor components, and condensed outside to release the heat from your home. In the winter, the refrigerant is evaporated in the outdoor coil, and condensed in the indoor units to use that heat to warm the air in your living space. The transfer of heat is far more efficient than the generation of new heat that other heating models utilize.

Zone Control: You might have heard of a zone control system before. This is something that is installed directly into the ductwork of a central air conditioner or furnace to breaks up the home into different temperature zones. Generally speaking, it’s best to have these types of systems installed with the initial installation of your central system. The system can be retrofitted, but this process is sometimes ineffective and results in system inefficiency.

A ductless system automatically splits your home into these zones. The individual blowers used by ductless systems are all controlled independently of each other. This means you can set different temperatures in the different areas of your home without the need for upgrades or equipment retrofits.

No Air Leaks: Among the most common of culprits of energy inefficiency in today’s homes are leaky air ducts. When air doesn’t make it to its intended destination, your HVAC system has to work harder than it should have to in order to balance temperatures throughout your home. And with leaky ductwork, your air conditioner or furnace can lose as much as 30% of the conditioned air meant for your living space. This results in wasted energy and wasted money as a result.

You don’t have to worry about this problem at all with a ductless system! After all, there is no ductwork to be had, and therefore nowhere for air leaks to escape from.